Greg Hinz On Politics

City moves to take over, redevelop Old Main Post Office

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has given up on developer Bill Davies, announcing today that the city is moving to seize control of the Old Main Post office that Davies owns but is still an empty hulk years after he bought it.

In a statement, Emanuel said his administration has decided to "move forward with jumpstarting the long-overdue rehabilitation" of the 2.7 million-square-foot complex by seizing it through eminent domain and then looking for another developer.

The Community Development Commission will consider both actions at a meeting set for March 8, the mayor's office said. Emanuel hopes the site, bounded by Van Buren, Canal and Harrison streets and the South Branch of the Chicago River, will be in the hands of a new owner by summer.

Davies bought the property for $24 million in 2009 from the U.S. Postal Service. Emanuel promised that no city money will be used to acquire or redevelop the structure. That apparently means no tax increment financing subsidy, though it wasn't immediately clear what funds the city will use for acquisition.

"The lack of redevelopment progress is unacceptable and the building's ongoing obsolescence will make future rehabilitation more difficult," city Planning Commissioner David Reifman said in the statement.

The city noted that the building may be eligible for historic tax credits. Though dilapidated, the building, atop the Eisenhower Expressway, once was among the largest in the world.